SPRINGVILLE, Calif. (AP) — Authorities say a sheriff’s deputy and a civilian pilot were killed when a single-engine plane crashed near Springville in Tulare County.

The Fresno Bee reports (http://bit.ly/1Q8sMVP ) Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux confirmed Deputy Scott Ballantyne and pilot James Chavez died when a two-seater plane crashed Wednesday and burst into flames after hitting a mountain.

Boudreaux says the aircraft, which belonged to the Tulare County Sherriff’s Office, was leaving the area after assisting deputies in the arrest of a suspect who had brandished a weapon.

He says the cause of the crash has not been determined and that a distress call was not sent out and the parachutes the plane was outfitted with didn’t deploy.

He says the FAA will assist with the investigation.

The plane crashed near Eagle Feather Trading Post and Highway 190, which was closed for several hours.